Sunday, March 03, 2002
Indiana wins share of Big Ten
The Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana players raised their arms and donned their championship caps Saturday.
It was, after all, about time for a celebration.
Tom Coverdale scored 20 points, while Jarrad Odle added 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his home finale and Indiana ended a two-game losing streak by beating Northwestern 79-67 to claim a share of its first Big Ten title since 1993.
The victory ended the Hoosiers' nine-year drought without a conference title, their longest stretch since 1958-67.
Just how many teams will share that title with Indiana, and what seeding the Hoosiers (19-10, 11-5) get in next week's Big Ten tournament, are still in question.
Wisconsin clinched its share of the title and the tournament's top seeding by winning Wednesday.
Ohio State beat Michigan Saturday to earn a share of the title at 11-5. Illinois, which entered the weekend with a 10-5 conference mark, also was in position to grab a share of the title today.
But to the Hoosiers, a share of the title was as good as winning it outright.
“I know some people wish we did this outright,” coach Mike Davis told the Assembly Hall crowd during postgame ceremonies. “There's a lot of time left to do that. But we had to get one before we got two.”
NORTHWESTERN (16-12) — Blake 5-14 1-2 13, Hardy 10-16 2-4 24, Jennings 3-6 1-1 7, Young 1-7 2-2 4, Drayton 0-2 1-3 1, Long 3-6 3-4 11, Burke 2-6 2-3 7. Totals 24-57 12-19 67.
INDIANA (19-10) — Jeffries 6-12 3-5 15, Odle 6-9 4-4 16, Coverdale 7-15 3-5 20, Fife 2-8 2-2 8, Hornsby 3-7 1-2 9, Moye 0-0 2-2 2, Perry 0-2 0-0 0, Newton 2-4 5-8 9. Totals 26-57 20-28 79.
Halftime—Indiana 33, Northwestern 32. 3-point goals—Northwestern 7-25 (Long 2-3, Hardy 2-7, Blake 2-8, Burke 1-3, Jennings 0-2, Young 0-2), Indiana 7-24 (Coverdale 3-8, Hornsby 2-5, Fife 2-7, Odle 0-1, Perry 0-1, Jeffries 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Northwestern 32 (Hardy 9), Indiana 40 (Odle 10). Assists—
Northwestern 15 (Drayton 5), Indiana 15 (Coverdale, Fife 5). Total fouls—Northwestern 20, Indiana 17. Technical—
Fife. A—17,456.
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